b. Carl Carlton (a.k.a. Carl Hudgens and ‘The Bad C.C.’), 21st May 1953, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.
Carl Carlton is, probably, best known for his 1981 hit single ‘She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)’, and his 1974 interpretation of the Cason/Gayden classic, ‘Everlasting Love’.
Born in Detroit, Carl’s career began in the Sixties, when he recorded under the name of ‘Little Carl’.
Carl signed to the Lando Records imprint in 1964, releasing ‘I Think Of How I Love Her’ b/w ‘I Love True Love’, that year.
don't you need a boy like me b/w i'll love you forever / so what b/w i love you only - 1965
1965 saw 2 further singles, in the form of ‘Don't You Need A Boy Like Me’ b/w ‘I’ll Love You Forever’ and ‘So What’ b/w ‘I Love Only You’.
In 1968, Carl switched imprints to Don Robey’s Texan Record label Back Beat Records, shortly after which he relocated to the area.
At Backbeat he released 10 singles, starting off with ‘Competition Ain't Nothing’ b/w ‘Three Way Love’ in 1968.
He remained at Backbeat until 1972, when ABC bought the imprint, and Carl began to record for the label.
can't stop a man in love - 1973 / everlasting love - 1974 / i wanna be with you - 1974 / carl carlton - 1981
Carl’s first ABC release was ‘You Can't Stop A Man In Love’ b/w ‘You Times Me Plus Love’.
ABC didn’t dissolve Backbeat initially, and Carl released further 45’s up until 1974 for that label.
One of his final releases for the label became one of his biggest hits.
A re-working of the Robert Knight evergreen ‘Everlasting Love’ b/w ‘I Wanna Be Your Main Squeeze’, reached number 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 11 on the Billboard R&B Charts in 1974.
something's wrong b/w you, you - 1977
In 1977, he released one single (‘Something's Wrong’ b/w ‘You, You’) for Mercury Records, and then switched labels to 20th Century (helped by Leon Haywood), after ABC folded in the mid Seventies.
Leon Haywood penned a single ‘She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)’ b/w ‘This Feeling's Rated X-Tra’, which became a huge hit, reaching number 2 on the Soul chart, reached number 34 on the U.K. Singles Chart, and earned a Grammy Award nomination in 1981.
A parent album, entitled ‘Carl Carlton’, achieved gold in 1981.
the bad c.c. - 1982 / private property - 1985
In total, Carl released 6 albums between 1973 and 1985, which comprised of ‘Can’t Stop A Man In Love’ (in 1973), ‘Everlasting Love’ (in 1974), ‘I Wanna Be With You’ (in 1975), ‘Carl Carlton’ (in 1981), ‘The Bad C.C.’ (in 1982) and ‘Private Property’ (in 1985).
In 2010, he became a Gospel artist, releasing a single entitled, ‘God is Good’.
In April 2011, he was nominated for a Detroit Music Award in the ‘Outstanding Gospel/Christian Vocalist’ category.
Albums:
Can't Stop A Man In Love (Backbeat Records 1973)
Everlasting Love (ABC Records 1974)
I Wanna Be With You (ABC Records 1975)
Carl Carlton (20th Century Fox Records (1981)
The Bad C.C. (RCA Victor Records 1982)
Private Property (Casablanca Records 1985)
